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Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship (Adult, Child, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities) - BSc (Hons)

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Our BSc (Hons) Nursing Degree Apprenticeship is a work- integrated degree to enable you to train as an apprentice to become a graduate registered nurse....

  • Level Apprenticeship
  • Study mode Full Time
  • Award BSc (Hons)
  • Start date September 2025, January 2026

This course is:

Overview

Our BSc (Hons) Nursing Degree Apprenticeship is a work- integrated degree to enable you to train as an apprentice to become a graduate registered nurse.

The BSc (Hons) Nursing Degree Apprenticeship Course has been developed in collaboration with our local stakeholders and employers in the region and designed to comply with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2018) educational standards for nurses meaning that successful completion of this course makes you eligible to apply and be entered onto the NMC register in one of the four fields of nursing: Adult, Child, Learning Disabilities or Mental Health.

How to apply

You apply for a degree apprenticeship in the same way you apply for a normal job. You’ll need to submit an application to the recruiting employer.

Employers advertise degree apprenticeships throughout the year and there is no application cycle like there is with university applications. The vacancy will state when the application deadline is, and when the apprenticeship is due to start.

You cannot apply directly to the University for a degree apprenticeship. To apply for an apprenticeship, you first need to find one that you are interested in applying for.

The NHS Jobs website is where the vacancies are advertised. It only shows live jobs (so it won’t tell you previous vacancies, nor what’s coming up), so you will need to check it regularly to see new vacancies as the employers advertise them.

Apply through the employer

Who can access this course?

This course is suitable for healthcare support workers who are already employed or have been recruited as employees to access the BSc (Hons) Nursing Degree Apprenticeship and have been nominated to apply for study at BCU by the employing organisation.

The Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship is also suitable for experienced healthcare practitioners for example Nursing Associates, Assistant Practitioners or band 4 healthcare support workers who have relevant healthcare experience and qualifications who may be then be eligible to undertake a shortened degree apprenticeship on accreditation of prior learning.

As an apprentice on this course you will be released by your employer to study part-time at university and in a range of practice placement settings.

This course is not open to International students.

What's covered in this course?

Our aim is to develop you into a graduate nurse who is able to work flexibly across a range of settings in your field of practice and meet the health needs of the whole person throughout their lifespan. We will work with you on your development to help you become a skilled, knowledgeable, emotionally intelligent nurse, able to lead and co-ordinate compassionate, evidence-based, person- and family-centred care while working as an integral member of interdisciplinary teams. 

The university-based elements of the first two years of your course are integrated, with all fields of nursing working together. In your final year, the theory you learn will be specific to your chosen field of nursing. You will study five modules each year. In year one, you will complete a year-long practice module which will prepare and support you to develop your confidence and competence in practice as you work towards independently leading and co-ordinating care.  

Part 1 you will gain theoretical and practice knowledge to develop a range of key skills. This will include: exploring the evidence that underpins person- and family-centred care; professional values; self-leadership; and the role of the registered nurse.

Part 2 modules will further enhance your first-year learning and explore evidence-based complex care incorporating a wide range of research, skills, team leadership and principles of co-ordinating care.

Part 3 you will continue build on your previous learning and develop proficiency within your field of nursing. The modules you study will develop you as a leader who uses research-informed critical thinking to co-ordinate care, supervise other health professionals and gain confidence in the safe management of medication.

You will also have access to personal tuition throughout the course which will enrich your learning experiences and will enable to reflect meaningfully on your practice and the development of your individual field identity. 

Your practice placements will be specific to your chosen field throughout the four years. However, to help you become a more rounded nurse, you will also have opportunities to learn across the four fields of nursing. Your placement learning experiences may be within community, hospital or home environment settings and at a location anywhere within the West Midlands and potentially into neighbouring counties. While on placement you will be supported, supervised and assessed by practice and academic staff to develop your knowledge and skills.  

We are committed to providing excellent, innovative, learning, teaching and assessment experiences using a blended approach through lectures, seminars, skills simulation and virtual learning using on line and simulation technology to enhance your learning. Engaging with practice partners and service users is also integral to our approach.

Accredited By

This course is accredited by:

  • Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

Why study an apprenticeship?

  • There are no costs to apprenticeships as you are in salaried employment
  • The emphasis is on Work based learning and the opportunity to build on existing knowledge and skills
  • A range of relevant placement opportunities to broaden your understanding of healthcare provision across the lifespan
  • Highly experienced tutors who are all professionally qualified to support you at university
  • Work based clinical educators to support you in practice
  • A wide range of support services available to you at university to support your learning journey.
  • Registered Nurse apprentices remain supernumerary for the duration of the programme and are required to complete an End Point Assessment on completion of the programme

Facilities & Staff

 

Our Facilities

Our Nursing and Midwifery courses are based at our City South campus in leafy Edgbaston.

We’ve spent £41million expanding our facilities at City South. These facilities offer hands-on practical experience, replicating the spaces you will come across in professional practice.

In a sector where new techniques are constantly being discovered, we work hard to ensure that you learn using the most up-to-date equipment available. Alongside physical spaces such as a mock operating theatre and wards, we also make use of online and virtual technology, such as our virtual ward and virtual case creator.

See more of our skills facilities at City South

Centre for Skills and Simulation

The Centre for Skills and Simulation offers a range of different spaces which replicate situations that you will encounter in practice. These include hospital wards, an operating theatre and a home environment room.

Our mock wards enable you to get a feel of what a ward is really like before you head out for your first placement. The hospital wards can be adapted from low care to high dependency care environment with the necessary monitoring equipment.

The home environment room is the perfect space for teaching communications skills and allows us to simulate a community setting for our students. It is particularly useful for mental health nurses, learning disability nurses and midwives.

Simulation Manikins

We have several Simulation men (SIM men) and simulation babies (SIM babies) which are anatomically correct manikins used for teaching specific techniques such as advanced adult and paediatric life support skills, acute and high dependency clinical skills, first aid and communication skills. The manikins contain software which replicates real symptoms, and can manipulate indicators such as blood pressure, pulse and heart rate for extra realism. SIM man can even ‘talk’ to the students as they are treating him, to add another dimension to learning.

Computer Facilities

The Seacole building has two open-access IT Suites which offer PCs, printers, photocopiers and scanners. There is also an IT Helpdesk for quick and easy help with your computing or internet issues.

Our PCs utilise the latest Intel i5 core technology, all with:

  • Fast (unrestricted) internet connectivity
  • Ability to save files to USB, DVD & CD
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Research and statistical software
  • Storage space which can be accessed from any PC across the University and from home

Our PCs are also designed to support students who may have difficulties with reading and writing, featuring specialised software with zooming/magnification and screen reading capabilities, which may also be customised for individual student needs.

In addition to desktop PCs, we also offer a laptop loan facility, allowing students to borrow a laptop for up to six hours while on campus.

Our staff

Jim Chapman

Nurse degree apprenticeships and MSc Nursing project lead

Prior to moving into education, Jim worked as a mental health nurse in in-patient and community mental health settings, specialising in providing urgent and crisis care to working age adults. As an academic, Jim has worked across undergraduate and postgraduate nurse education, focusing on teaching clinical nursing skills and principles of recovery,...

More about Jim